Tuesday, March 15, 2011

RIP Mr. Tsutomu Katoh - Founder of KORG

I would like to inform you that our founder and chairman Mr. Tsutomu Katoh passed away early this morning (March 15, 2011) after a long fight with cancer.

Since he founded Korg Inc. in 1963, Mr. Katoh has led our company with great talent, vision and leadership. He was loved and respected by all the employees, all Korg family members and made a huge contribution to the lives of countless musicians around the world.

Plans for a memorial service will follow very soon.

I would appreciate your prayers for him and hope he can rest peacefully now.

Another hero lost; one of the first to define the world of synthesis as we know it. The gifts he gave us will always be remembered and will inspire new synth enthusiasts and musicians for decades to come. Tsutomu Katoh-san, you will be missed. Thank you for everything you gave us.

Via Wikipedia: "Founded in 1962 in Japan by Tsutomu Kato and Tadashi Osanai, Korg was originally known as Keio Gijutsu Kenkyujo Ltd." and later "Keio Electronic Laboratories(京王技術研究所?) because its fledgling offices were located near the Keio train line in Tokyo and Keio can be formed by combining the first letters of Kato and Osanai. Before founding the company, Kato ran a nightclub. Osanai, a Tokyo University graduate and noted accordionist, regularly performed at Kato's club accompanied by a Wurlitzer Sideman rhythm machine. Unsatisfied with the rhythm machine, Osanai convinced Kato to finance his efforts to build a better one..." And indeed they did.

Some video of the legacy of instruments he brought us with a rare interview in Part 1 (previously posted):

'The Vintage Synth - Volume 3: Korg' 1-11

YouTube via baward — November 24, 2009 —

"Rare, Japanese-language video from some time in the 1990's, taking the viewer on an odyssey through Korg's many instruments, from Korg's synthesizer museum at its Tokyo headquarters.

Two other videos were produced in this series, 'The Vintage Synth - Volume 1: Moog and 'The Vintage Synth - Volume 2: Roland'"

Part 1: "This clip features an interview with Korg's co-founder Tsutomu Kato and footage of the rare DA-20 Doncamatic drum machine (1963) and an early appearance of Korg's famous 'Traveler' filter control - on an organ! (late 1960's.) More to follow."

Part 2: "This clip features the Korgue organ from 1968, as well as Korg's first synthesizer, the Mini Korg 700 from 1973 (here shown in its expanded 2 oscillator version, 1974's Mini Korg 700S.)"

Part 3: "This clip features the Synthesizer 800DV (1974), Synthesizer 770 (1975), and the PE-1000 (1976)."